We made our fall pilgrimage to Y

We made our fall pilgrimage to Yellowstone in October. The trip turned out very successful in many ways and I learned several points to pass along, the first of which is: be sure to get insurance on your equipment. Fortunately, I had done that! On the last day of the trip, the camera with the wide zoom took a fall out of the back of the rig. The lens broke in half and the camera is in for repair. Good news is: insurance covers it. A good way to get insurance is through a NANPA membership.

http://www.nanpa.org/home.html

You can get insurance once you join. Of course, your existing insurance may cover you as well, although you may want to investigate the details. We discovered some gotchas with having camera equipment covered by either homeowners or auto insurance. Either way, insuring your equipment will save you a lot of irritation when the inevitable happens.

Before getting started this month I was remonded that not everyone has a calibrated monitor. For the non-technical that means what looks good on my monitor may not look good on yours. I calibrate my monitors on a semi-yearly basis and sooner if I suspect things are a miss. To get the best from your monitor try going to this site and following the instructions for monito calibration.

http://epaperpress.com/monitorcal/

If you do not have Adobe Gamma or access to it then you may find this site more useful.

http://www.drycreekphoto.com/Learn/monitor_calibration.htm

A properly calibrated monitor will greatly enhance your viewing pleasure.

I ended up with so many good shots it was difficult to narrow it down for the newsletter. That’s a good problem to have! Part of what made the difference is a quality lens. I rented a Canon EF 400mm f/2.8 IS USM. A buddy from England, Fabio, convinced me that the problem I was having with soft focus was the lens and not me. He was right. I don’t think I would have believed the difference if I had not experienced it for myself. My previous work has been done with a Sigma APO 50-500mm f/4-6.3 EX DG HSM. This is a nice lens, but when compared to the Canon it just doesn’t measure up. To be fair, the Canon is six times more expensive. But if it’s crisp you want, and if you want to break into professional work, then the Canon is the only way to go. For home or hobbyist level work, the Sigma is a fine lens. A couple of things to note: the Canon is faster at 400mm than the Sigma is at 50mm, and it produces less aberration and diffraction than the Sigma, so you can shoot at a higher ISO when needed with confidence. In fact, I shot many of my wildlife images at 400 to 500 ISO with the Canon lens. With the Sigma the best I could tolerate was 200 ISO. This makes the lens even faster when you consider the extra ISO speed gained from good glass. There’s a lot more in-depth analysis I could go into, but let’s end the technical lesson and move on to the art.

Fall was in full swing, which is evident in many of the pictures you will see throughout the newsletter. A tip for scenes is to focus about a third of the way into the view and set your f-stop somewhere between nine to thirteen. This gives you a good focal point and good depth of field.

Barn – Mormon Row

Canon EOS-1D Mark II - Sigma 28-300 at 28 MM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit

Evaluative Metering

Gradient Neutral Density Filter

Circular Pole Filter

Exposure Compensation 0

ISO 160 - 1/80 Sec @ F13

Mt. Moran – Oxbow Bend

Canon EOS-1D Mark II - Sigma 28-300 at 58 MM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit

Evaluative Metering

Gradient Neutral Density Filter

Circular Pole Filter

Exposure Compensation 0

ISO 160 - 1/60 Sec @ F13

Trees in Fall color – Grand Teton National Park

Canon EOS-1D Mark II - Sigma 28-300 at 115 MM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit

Evaluative Metering

Gradient Neutral Density Filter

Circular Pole Filter

Exposure Compensation 0

ISO 200 - 1/50 Sec @ F11

Pond and Tetons – Grand Teton National Park

Canon EOS-1D Mark II - Sigma 28-300 at 81 MM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit

Evaluative Metering

Gradient Neutral Density Filter

Circular Pole Filter

Exposure Compensation 0

ISO 200 - 1/100 Sec @ F11

The Bison were plentiful as always and the turning Aspens made a striking contrast for them on this crisp morning.

Bison – Lamar Valley

Canon EOS-1D Mark II - Canon EF 400mm f/2.8 IS USM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit

Evaluative Metering

Gradient Neutral Density Filter

Circular Pole Filter

Exposure Compensation 0

ISO 250 - 1/200 Sec @ F2.8

Bison Calf – Lamar Valley

Canon EOS-1D Mark II - Canon EF 400mm f/2.8 IS USM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit

Evaluative Metering

Gradient Neutral Density Filter

Circular Pole Filter

Exposure Compensation 0

ISO 250 - 1/128 Sec @ F3

Fran was beginning to think she was jinxed as she had never seen Moose on our trips together. If she was, then this trip the jinx was lifted. We saw nearly a dozen Moose this trip, split almost evenly between Bulls and Cows.

Bull Moose – Teton National Forest

Canon EOS-1D Mark II - Canon EF 400mm f/2.8 IS USM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit

Evaluative Metering

Exposure Compensation -1

ISO 160 - 1/1300 Sec @ F4.5

Bull Moose – Teton National Forest

Canon EOS-1D Mark II - Canon EF 400mm f/2.8 IS USM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit

Evaluative Metering

Exposure Compensation -1

ISO 160 - 1/640 Sec @ F2.8

Bull Moose – Oxbow Bend

Canon EOS-1D Mark II - Canon EF 400mm f/2.8 IS USM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit

Evaluative Metering

Exposure Compensation -1

ISO 320 - 1/3200 Sec @ F4.5

The weather turned moody mid-week, about the time we found ourselves near Old Faithful and the Upper Geyser Basin. The clouds and steam created some dramatic results.

Firehole River – Upper Geyser Basin

Canon EOS-1D Mark II - Sigma 28-300 at 96 MM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit

Evaluative Metering

Gradient Neutral Density Filter

Circular Pole Filter

Exposure Compensation 0

ISO 250 - 1/160 Sec @ F11

Grand Geyser – Upper Geyser Basin

Canon EOS-1D Mark II - Sigma 28-300 at 41 MM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit

Evaluative Metering

Gradient Neutral Density Filter

Circular Pole Filter

Exposure Compensation 0

ISO 250 - 1/250 Sec @ F11

Sawmill Geyser – Upper Geyser Basin

Canon EOS-1D Mark II - Sigma 28-300 at 28 MM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit

Evaluative Metering

Gradient Neutral Density Filter

Circular Pole Filter

Exposure Compensation 0

ISO 250 - 1/500 Sec @ F11

Beauty Pool – Upper Geyser Basin

Canon EOS-1D Mark II - Sigma 28-300 at 28 MM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit

Evaluative Metering

Circular Pole Filter

Exposure Compensation 0

ISO 250 - 1/200 Sec @ F11

Along with the wet weather came the first snow on Dunraven Pass. This made for some good shots of the elk and black bears.

Elk – Madison River

Canon EOS-1D Mark II - Canon EF 400mm f/2.8 IS USM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit

Evaluative Metering

Exposure Compensation 0

ISO 320 - 1/320 Sec @ F5

Elk – Dunraven Pass

Canon EOS-1D Mark II - Canon EF 400mm f/2.8 IS USM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit

Evaluative Metering

Exposure Compensation 0

ISO 400 - 1/320 Sec @ F2.8

Black Bear – Dunraven Pass

Canon EOS-1D Mark II - Canon EF 400mm f/2.8 IS USM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit

Evaluative Metering

Exposure Compensation 0

ISO 250 - 1/500 Sec @ F3.2

Black Bear detail – Dunraven Pass

Canon EOS-1D Mark II - Canon EF 400mm f/2.8 IS USM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit

Evaluative Metering

Exposure Compensation 0

ISO 250 - 1/500 Sec @ F3.2

Black Bear cub – Dunraven Pass

Canon EOS-1D Mark II - Canon EF 400mm f/2.8 IS USM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit

Evaluative Metering

Exposure Compensation 0

ISO 250 - 1/500 Sec @ F3.2

Turning from Dunraven Pass, we headed back to the Lamar Valley. Along the way, we saw a Mule Deer Buck, a Coyote and of course, the fall colors.

Mule Deer Buck – Tower Area

Canon EOS-1D Mark II - Canon EF 400mm f/2.8 IS USM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit

Evaluative Metering

Exposure Compensation 0

ISO 100 - 1/1000 Sec @ F2.8

Mule Deer Buck – Tower Area

Canon EOS-1D Mark II - Canon EF 400mm f/2.8 IS USM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit

Evaluative Metering

Exposure Compensation 0

ISO 320 - 1/250 Sec @ F2.8

Coyote – Tower/Roosevelt

Canon EOS-1D Mark II - Canon EF 400mm f/2.8 IS USM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit

Evaluative Metering

Exposure Compensation 0

ISO 200 - 1/1000 Sec @ F6.3

Coyote – Tower/Roosevelt

Canon EOS-1D Mark II - Canon EF 400mm f/2.8 IS USM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit

Evaluative Metering

Exposure Compensation 0

ISO 200 - 1/640 Sec @ F6.3

Aspen Grove – Lava Creek Area

Canon EOS-1D Mark II - Sigma 28-300 at 68 MM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit

Evaluative Metering

Gradient Neutral Density Filter

Circular Pole Filter

Exposure Compensation 0

ISO 100 - 1/12 Sec @ F11

Finally, we headed back to the Madison area before heading out of the park. We were fortunate to see Bald Eagle’s feeding on a carcass, and we took time to see the Firehole Falls for the first time.

Bald Eagle – Madison River

Canon EOS-1D Mark II - Canon EF 400mm f/2.8 IS USM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit

Evaluative Metering

Exposure Compensation 0

ISO 200 - 1/1600 Sec @ F2.8

Firehole Falls – Firehole Canyon

Canon EOS-1D Mark II - Sigma 28-300 at 35 MM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit

Evaluative Metering

Gradient Neutral Density Filter

Circular Pole Filter

Exposure Compensation 0

ISO 200 - 1/4 Sec @ F14

For additional information or to order prints go to our website: www.bmckain.net

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